New Year, New Craft - The Cuttle Corner #16

Welcome to the sixteenth edition of The Cuttle Corner! I took the last couple of weeks off to focus on time with the family at the end of the year and just relax a little. By relax, of course, I mean working on all my projects, and learning a completely new craft!

While I’ve been gone, I have gotten so much done! I can’t wait to show you!

If you missed my last post, you can take a look here.

Now, let’s get cozy!

What’s going on

I know it’s cliché, but I can’t believe how fast this year has flown by! A big highlight this year was starting this blog and getting to share all of my crafty adventures with you.

Here’s to another year of cuttle-ing!

Crafty Acquisitions

One nice thing about being a crafty type of person is I am easy to shop for!

My amazing husband got me two new spindles that I can’t wait to try out. An antique Turkish spindle with beautiful carving, and a Scottish style dealgan spindle.

Image of two different wooden spindles. The spindle on the left is a Turkish spindle with intricate carving. The spindle on the right is a Dealgan.

He also found this sewing kit from 1850 that will be perfect for my living history endeavors.

Image of an antique sewing kit that includes a silver awl, thimble, scissors, and needle holder. The outside of the kit is green and the inside is a golden yellow with a mirror in the lid.

A fun throwback to the Dork Forest podcast episode I was on this year is this “Harry, it sucks” t-shirt from my sister.

Image of a white woman wearing a black shirt with a white sketch of a banana and white text that reads harry it s dot dot dot s.

I also got a collection of books and magazines I can’t wait to dive into. These cover spinning, natural dyeing, weaving (more on that in a moment), and a new cookbook!

Image of four book covers. Top left is Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom, top right is a volume of Ply magazine, bottom left is Fabio's 30-minute Italian, and bottom right is Wild Color: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes.

What I’m working on

Crochet

You may not believe this, but my Hygge Burst granny square blanket is finally done! I’ve already been snuggling under it for weeks.

I love how it turned out. All the yarns look great together. A lot of the yarn I used to make the granny squares was from a Stranger Things advent calendar that was dyed by Yarn Café Creations a few years ago. I have used a lot of her yarn, and have always loved working with it.

Close up image of a crochet granny square blanket with multicolor squares joined with gray tweed yarn.

Using fingering weight yarn meant it took longer to make, but it is still surprisingly warm and has a pleasant weight to it that not all blankets have. The size of the finished blanket is 43.5 x 62 inches. It’s already covered in dog hair, but that just makes it warmer, right?

This blanket took months of work. If you are lucky enough to own a handmade blanket of any kind, take a moment to appreciate all the work that went into it, whether you made it or it was made for you.

Knitting

Kildalton Cardigan

With everything else going on, my Kildalton Cardigan has been a bit neglected. I made some progress on the back panel, but it still has a ways to go. I’ll be happy if I have this done in time to wear next Fall.

Image of the back of a cable knit sweater in process.

Sophie Scarf

Another finished project!

The Sophie Scarf was super quick to knit up. Even casually knitting on it, I think I had it done in about a week.

Image of a white woman with her hair up, wearing a small scarf wrapped around her head to keep her head warm.

I knit this to be able to wear around my ears, since my regular hairstyle is not conducive to wearing hats. I think it looks super cute tied on, and it definitely keeps my ears warm!

New Socks

With two finished projects, it was time for a new cast on. To have something easy to grab and keep my hands busy, I started a new pair of vanilla socks.

Image of a ball of yarn with a partially knit sock. The yarn has a brown base with flecks of green, pink, purple, and blue.

I pulled this beautiful yarn from my stash for these socks. It is also a Yarn Café Creations Stranger Things yarn, although not from the advent calendar.

My Favorite Vanilla Sock Recipe:

Cast on 64 stitches on a size 0 needle (I am knitting this socks with magic loop, but use whatever circular method works best for you).
Knit 20-30 rows of 1×1 rib for the cuff.
The rest of the sock has a 1×3 rib (this makes the sock fit very close to the foot).
Switch to plain stockinette for the bottom of the foot.
For the heel, I always follow the fish lips kiss heel pattern.
Finish the toe with standard decreases and join with a Kitchener stitch.

Weaving

That’s right, I started a whole new craft while I’ve been gone!

This is entirely my dad’s fault. He made me this beautiful rigid heddle loom and I immediately pulled some yarn from my stash and got warping.

Image of wood rigid heddle table loom with a shuttle full of yarn resting on the warp.

I am having so much fun weaving on this loom. There are so many things to explore with weaving. It will also be a great place to highlight some of my favorite hand spun yarns!

While you can’t buy this exact loom, since my dad doesn’t sell them, a Schacht Cricket Loom is a readily available loom that is very similar.

Until next time, keep cuttle-ing!

What are you working on? I’d love to hear about your projects in the comments below!

New Year, New Craft – The Cuttle Corner #16